Read the other blog below first!
S. On the hike Monday morning.
T. The king. Morocco has billboards and flags ALL OVER the city, particularily the areas where king shall be visiting. On our way to Chefchouen I probably saw over 100 flags.
U. Micah and I overlooking Chefchouen on our Monday morning hike.
V. Machine to make rugs and blankets in the women's shelter.
W. Chefchaouen, Morocco - the town of blue and white buildings.
X. Eating cous cous at a rural Moroccan home on the mountainside! The rule of eating is that you imagine a slice of pie in front of you on the platter and stick to that. ONLY use your right hand, which is considered the clean hand.
Y. LEO! Our cat's name was LEO! He was a male that wore a pink outfit at all times.
Z. Meat market. Ehsan is the guy on the left in olive green.
6. The Hammam!! Google this term to find photos. The Hammam is basically a spa - one for each gender. You enter and its three rooms, each progressively hotter. The third room is where the steaming hot water comes out. So you bring a towel, flip flops, soap, a hand scrubber and two buckets. You fill the huge bucket with hot water and then there's faucets in all three rooms with cold water. So basically you select the temp you want. It seems kind of gross, because everyone just sits on the floor.
6B. Scrubber man. It's ten dirhams to enter the place, 50 to hire the scrubber man. I did it. We have these really rough cloths to clean with, and he basically does it all over your body and you get SUPER clean. You just lay flat out on your stomach, then your back, and he goes to work. At the end you can see clumps of skin that came off. It's amazing.
7. I've noted that people all over the world are forceful to get money. In Morocco, people are forceful to do henna and sell weed - yes the drug. The women will take your are and put ink on it without asking, so you have to be very strong in saying no. A man walked with us for about 5 minutes pestering us about weed - apparently its popular there.
8. Sarah - our leader. She served in the Peace Corps for two years and now works for the Moroccan exchange, still living in Morocco. She is from Seattle and was great. Really run, really great. I was able to have a great spiritual conversation with her and ask her about Christianity in Morocco and get a fee for her beliefs. Thanks for the opportunity God.
9. Beds (couches). Everyone sleeps on couches against the wall like my previous photo post. They are actually pretty hard, but I slept like a rock.
10. Storks were everywhere when we visited old Roman ruins. For Africa or Morocco, can't remember, its called the origin of civilization. Coincidence? :)
11. Islam. People pray 5 times a day. You probably knew that. They actually have a speaker system accross the entire country so that people can hear the prayers. Even in the countryside. Mosques are overfilled so people are poured out onto the streets to pray.
12. The streets in Rabat are very busy with markets and such but verrrry smelly.
13. Meeting with the rural mountainside family. The first time they saw or met Americans was the weekend before this one. They were very nice - the father of the household was 62 and seemed quite happy. Although he didn't like Bush because Bush supported Israel. It was just so incredible to be there and learn about their lifestyle. They live about 20 minutes walking from the nearest road and are self-sustaining farmers. A translator was with us which allowed us to ask them questions and for them to ask us questions. The highlight of my trip. They served us cous cous - the big platter in the photo.
14. Sunday night we say by candlelight on the roof of our hotel in Chefchouen. We reviewed the weekend and discussed observations. I feel like I really bonded with my group of 13 people. We finished the night with a game of Mafia - half of the people had never played before. It didn't go well.
15. I have really developed a desire to talk to people about Jesus more and more. People need it. He's our Savior. Some are open to talking about it, some aren't. Those that aren't just break my heart. I'm really praying and thinking about working in ministry.
16. Micah and I were able to bond with Alberto - a Spaniard that works at CIEE and was responsable for us for the weekend. We spoke in Spanish, he knows some English, but he's a fun guy.
17. On the last night - Sunday night in Chefchouen I was woken up at 5 AM because I could hear the prayer calls really well from my bed. Aparently the last thing that the prayer says is "Prayer is better than sleep."
18. On Friday, the first day, we visited a women's shelter that prepares them for being qualified for jobs. It teaches classes for reading and writing, sewing and crafts, and computer stuff. I posted a picture on a machine that makes blankets and rugs.
Wow. Thanks for reading. I loved this trip. Enjoy!
Aust
Did everyone playing Mafia figure out that you were the only one that knew what was going on and vote to have you killed immediately?
ReplyDeleteI love your passion for talking to people about Jesus. I'm praying for you and the opportunities you have to influence people around the world. Just remember that your task is to introduce them to the love of Jesus, then it is the Holy Spirit who will work in them. Maybe not today or tomorrow - but you are planting eternal seeds that hold the possibility of changing lives. I have great respect for your amazing spirit and steadfast faith. All to His Glory!